NSW fire damages historic Zig Zag railway

FIRE has caused millions of dollars worth of damage to the historic Zig Zag railway in the NSW Blue Mountains.

Ten carriages, accommodation carriages, historic sleeping carriages, a meeting room, workshop, office and sleepers were ruined by the fire which tore through the area between Lithgow and the western side of the Blue Mountains over Thursday and Friday.

The cost of the damage is estimated at up to $4 million, Zig Zag Railway board member Alexander Robinson-Mills told AAP.

“We’ve suffered quite a significant amount of damage,” he said.

The tourist attraction has been closed since June last year for safety upgrades and had been “close” to reopening, Mr Robinson Mills said.

It would now be up to a year before it was ready to carry passengers again, he said.

“We have carriages which aren’t so damaged … as soon as we’re right to work in the shed again, when it’s been rebuilt, we’ll be looking at restoring those carriages.”

He said it was a second blow for the railway, which was damaged by heavy rain and landslips over February and March.